What force guarded the Berlin Wall for East Germany?

The Grenztruppen of the GDR, or East German Border Troops, guarded the Berlin Wall and East Germany’s other borders.

The force was formally responsible for preventing unauthorized crossings into West Berlin and West Germany. Its duties included manning watchtowers, patrols, checkpoints, border roads, fences, and other parts of the fortified border system.

The Grenztruppen were an armed military organization, although their role differed from that of the National People’s Army, East Germany’s regular armed forces. The Ministry for State Security, commonly called the Stasi, also monitored border personnel and investigated escape attempts, but it was not the ordinary guard force stationed along the wall.

Some border guards shot at people attempting to flee. After the wall opened in 1989, the border troops lost their central function and were eventually dissolved during the reunification process.